© Jennifer Huxta
Worshipers wait for the pope in Nairobi, Kenya, November 27, 2015.
Pope Francis will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan from July 2 to 7, two African countries plagued by violence and to which he pays particular attention.
The 85-year-old pontiff will first visit the DRC from July 2 to 5 in the cities of Kinshasa and Goma, before visiting Juba, capital of South Sudan, from July 5 to 7, in response to the invitation of heads of state and bishops of the two countries, announced Thursday the director of the press room of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni.
In these two countries regularly shaken by violence, the safety of the pope promises to be a major challenge for his protection service and the organizers.
“The pope comes (…) to revive the hope of the Congolese people who need peace, security and well-being”, reacted Mgr Marcel Utembi Tapa, president of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (Cenco), during a press conference in Kinshasa, a few minutes following the Vatican’s announcement.
The DRC, a secular country of some 90 million inhabitants where religion remains omnipresent, would have 40% Catholics, 35% Protestants or affiliated to the Churches of the Revival, 9% Muslims and 10% Kimbanguists (Christian church born in Congo ), according to estimates.
Goma, the main city of the province of North Kivu, in the east of the country, has been the scene for more than 25 years of violence by armed groups.
The last visit by a pope to the capital Kinshasa dates back to August 1985, when John Paul II spent two days in the country, then called Zaire.
– Chronic instability –
The visit to South Sudan will be the first by a Pope since the country’s creation in 2011. Tested by chronic instability, this poor country of 11 million inhabitants sank into a bloody civil war between 2013 and 2018 between enemies jurors Riek Machar and Salva Kiir, which claimed the lives of nearly 400,000 people and forced millions more to flee their homes.
Despite a peace agreement signed in 2018 and providing for power sharing within a government of national unity, disputes persist between the two rivals at the top of the state and the violence continues. According to a UN report published on Tuesday, at least 440 civilians were killed between June and September 2021 in clashes between factions on both sides.
The Holy See was directly involved in the negotiations by playing the role of mediator. In 2019, Francis even invited Salva Kiir and Riek Machar to the Vatican for a spiritual retreat following which he knelt down in front of them imploring them to make peace, a symbolically strong gesture that had marked the spirits. .
South Sudanese Presidential Affairs Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin promised “a great warm welcome (to the pope) that the people of South Sudan have been waiting for for many years.”
For his part, the Archbishop of Juba Stephen Ameyu Martin considered that Pope Francis “comes to show his solidarity with South Sudan” through this “not only religious” trip: he “is interested in the life of the Sudanese in general and also in politics”.
Since his election in 2013, François has traveled to Africa four times, notably to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic, Egypt and Morocco. His last African trip dates back to September 2019, when he went to Mozambique, Madagascar and then Mauritius.
This apostolic trip will be the Argentine pope’s second abroad in 2022, following his visit to Malta scheduled for April 2-3.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who in 2021 underwent major colon surgery, recently canceled several engagements due to “acute” knee pain and suffers from chronic hip pain.
In October, in an interview with the Argentine news agency Telam, the Holy Father said that he would make his first trip to Oceania in 2022, without specifying in which country (ies).
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